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To: slacker711 who wrote (18110)	2/5/2002 10:40:24 AM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34857

re: 1xRTT in Korea << Do we know what "3G" multimedia services are out there ... We actually do have the answers to most of those questions....SK Telecom/KT Freetel give pretty detailed quarterly reports. >> I've been looking at the monthly fact sheets and some of the other data on SKT's and KTF's sites for some time. It still hasn't really answered my questions, and particularly my questions about "3G" multimedia services. << If the past trends of increased data ARPU are continued, I think we can start to reach some conclusions about the effects of color screens and packet data on wireless data. >> The Korean vendors and carriers have done a heck of a job, and the Korean consumer is obviously receptive to even rudimentary wireless data, and they have always been enamored with high end phones with latest and greatest features. Replacement rates have always been higher than the norm particularly when subsidies were in place, but even when they were not. WAP has been more successful in Korea than any other country in the world. IS-95B exists because the Koreans pushed for it, and as a result the Koreans have experience with IP packet data at reasonable speeds (at the sacrifice of capacity) that is lacking elsewhere in the world. In addition they took a page out of the GSM playbook and implemented two-way SMS early on. SMS accounts for a big chunk of that portion of APRU that derives from data. Content providers are being added monthly as they have been for some time, and there is a broad selection of life-style oriented service plans featuring content oriented data. So far as I can tell the only thing that distinguishes a 1xRTT sub from a IS-95B sub is that the 1xRTT sub has a 1xRTT phone (which from here on out will be the case with a carrier like Sonera that chooses to sensibly make GPRS part of the basic service package). I have not been able to ascertain whether billing by the packet is implemented. It appears that (at least for the most part at this juncture) an IS-95B sub can access the same content as a 1xRTT sub, and the question becomes whether or not the extra transmission speed in and of itself enriches the user experience for the type of content currently available. Obviously the extra capacity afforded by 1xRTT is a big benefit to the carriers. << The one previous unanswered question was if the rises were simply a result of early adopters....with 4.2 million 1x subs, it can no longer be called a niche product in Korea. >> When looking at APRU historically in Korea. I can't really attribute the rise to 1xRTT. APRU from data has increased steadily since the introduction of IS-95B. It continues to gradually increase and that is as it should be. I think the increase is probably spread across IS-95B and 1xRTT. I do think that new feature sets (especially color displays and a browser modified to support color) have a lot to do with the popularity of 1xRTT models, and contribute to increase usage of content. I don't think its an early adopter thing. Its almost a "must have' thing in Korea. Hopefully it will be elsewhere. Color displays (with the requisite browser) should have universal appeal (although not necessarily quite so much outside of Asia, so much as in it), particularly when combined with adequate content, new services such as imaging and MMS, and Java apps. Speaking of Java, interesting site here: javamobiles.com - Eric -